ORAL JUDGMENT

(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.Y. KOGJE)

1 This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is inter alia filed for following prayer:-

“(A) Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus and/or writ of habeas corpus or any other appropriate writs, order or direction quashing and setting aside the impugned order of detention dated 03.09.2023 (sic.) at Annexure-A passed by the respondent no.1 herein, and further be pleased to release the petitioner detenue forthwith.”

2 The present petition is directed against order of detention dated 19.08.2023 passed by the respondent–detaining authority in exercise of powers conferred under section 3(2) of the Gujarat Prevention of Anti Social Activities Act, 1985 (for short “the Act”) by detaining the petitioner–detenue as defined under section 2(c) of the Act. under the order of detention dated 19.08.2023 passed by the Commissioner of Police, City Ahmedabad by which the petitioner has been detained as a ‘dangerous person’ based on two offenses registered with Ranip Police Station and Bodakdev Police Station respectively.

3. Learned advocate for the petitioner submitted that so called activity of the petitioner cannot be treated as an activity which is committing breach of public order as both the offences on which the detaining authority has relied upon are of private nature arising out of private dispute and has no connection with damage to the public order.

3.1. It is submitted that the documents attached alongwith the grounds of detention does not have any statement of the secret witnesses and therefore also there is no other material to treat the petitioner as indulging in antisocial activity damaging the public order.

3.2. Learned advocate has submitted that the reliance place upon two offenses are not only of different nature, but are also registered with the time gap of almost one year and two months and therefore, there is no live link.

3.3. Lastly, learned advocate for the petitioner submitted that even after the petitioner was released on bail in the month of June- 2023, the order of detention is passed in the month of August-2023 and the petitioner was detained actually on 03.09.2023 and therefore, there is delay of approximately more than two months and hence, also the detention is required to be quashed and set aside.

4. As against this, learned Assistant Government Pleader has objected to the grant of the petition by submitting that there are two IPC offenses registered against the petitioner and such offenses are within Chapter 15 and 16 of the IPC and therefore, covered under the definition of ‘dangerous person’ as contemplated under the provisions of PASA. Learned Assistant Government Pleader further submitted that the petitioner is indulging in antisocial activity is borne out from the fact that the petitioner was also detained under PASA as a dangerous person. Reference is already made to this in the order of detention.

5. Heard learned advocates for the parties and perused the documents placed on record. The petitioner has been detained as a dangerous person by an order dated 19.08.2023 by the detaining authority, Commissioner of Police, City Ahmedabad. The grounds of detention would indicate that the detaining authority has relied upon two IPC offenses, details of which are as under:-

6. The Court has taken into consideration the contents of two FIRs on which the detaining authority has relied upon and the Court finds that insofar as the first offense is concerned, the same is arising out of dispute with regard to the repayment of l